This invention relates to a door frame assembly, generally, and more particularly to a door casement for a prehung steel door employed in residential construction.
Several methods exist for securing a door frame having a metal frame and a composite wooden member to an opening. One method is simply to drive fasteners through the side of the wooden member into the opening and to thereafter repair, cosmetically, the recesses formed by the nails. Another method is described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,972, to Sailor issued May 25, 1982, and includes a door casement attached by screws turned through an anchor flange of the metal frame into the door jambs and the header. The screws are then covered with a decorative strip which snaps into a channel along the outer edge of the door jambs and header to cover the anchors and screws.
The methods described above are not suitable in various instances. For example, the filling of nail recesses is time consuming and renders the wood unattractive. The anchor system taught by Sailor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,972, is more suited for replacement doors or retro fitting work, and the casement assembly itself has to be preselected and made to fit into an opening of the known width.
Considering the above, I have developed a door casement for a prehung door, which casement is provided with an outer metal member particularly suited for receiving a steel door. Means are provided to overcome the drawbacks of the prior art so that the door casement can fit into an opening wherein the wall thickness varies from jobsite to jobsite thus permitting the construction of the single door for accommodating walls of various thicknesses.